Nine days and counting now till the final (in actual fact, at this time of the day in nine days time we should – barring another final draw – know where Sam will be wintering) and we’ve a whole week of pre-match fun and games to have before the day itself.

There are two preview night events that might be of interest to you, one down on home soil and the other one up here in the capital.

In chronological order, the first one of these takes place this coming Tuesday evening (18th) in Breaffy House Hotel where the Mayo News are hosting an evening of pre-match discussion and where throw-in has been set for 8pm.

The paper’s Mike Finnerty will be in the chair for this one while The Sunday Game pundits Kevin McStay and Martin McHugh will be doing their punditry stuff as will a number of other lads with opinions. And, of course, there’ll be All-Ireland tickets to be won. It’s €10 at the gate for this event, with the proceeds going to the training fund and a local charity.

The second event takes place up here, to be precise in the Garda Club on Harrington Street, on Thursday 20th. This event is being hosted by Club Mayo Sports and will get underway at 8.30pm that evening, in the form of a panel discussion on the match where the line-up will include David Brady, Kevin O’Neill, Paul Earley and Tommy Carr. It’s €10 into this one as well and everyone attending will be entered into a draw for an All-Ireland ticket. Further details on this event are here.

Given the welter of pre-match activities, it’d be handy to have details of them all in the one place, which I see the Mayo News has helpfully done – details here. I’ll post separately about arrangements for meeting up the night before the final.

Right, open evening or no open evening down in McHale Park I’ve got this draw for today’s t-shirt to do where one lucky winner from around sixty correct entries will shortly be picked. Stay tuned.